The Pennebaker Award will be presented to documentarian R.J. Cutler during the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards gala November 14 at the BRIC Arts Media Center in Brooklyn, New York. The award is named for Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award winner, D A Pennebaker, who passed away in 2019. The award will be presented to Cutler by Pennebaker’s producing partner and wife, Chris Hegedus.
Cutler’s work includes some of the most acclaimed documentaries of the last thirty years. His most recent film, the Apple Original Film cinema verité documentary Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, tells the coming-of-age story of the singer-songwriter and her rise to global superstardom. It was released to critical acclaim (96 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), was recently nominated for four Emmy Awards and is currently eligible for honors in this film awards season.
Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin said, “Throughout his distinguished career, R.J. Cutler has created category-defining films and television series, and we are honored to have him as our recipient of this prestigious award. With his work as a documentarian beginning as a producer of D A Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus’ landmark 1993 film, The War Room, that collaboration serves as a link between generations, and R.J. has continued to honor Penny’s pioneering legacy in the arena of observational cinema, from his directorial debut, A Perfect Candidate, and his docuseries American High through to his latest feature, the coming-of-age portrait of teenage global superstar, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry. He also continues to explore other directions in documentary, as with the unique archival films Listen to Me Marlon, which he produced, and last year’s Belushi, which he produced and directed."
Berlin added, “For the sixth year in a row, we look forward to shining the spotlight on the outstanding documentary filmmaking of the year. We continue to highlight the importance and cultural value of documentaries and are thrilled to give the creative filmmakers the recognition and acknowledgment that they deserve.”
This year, the Critics Choice Documentary Awards has its first Presenting Sponsor, National Geographic Documentary Films.